Religion News: Pope changes Communion method

Weekly religion rail, with items on Pope Benedict returning to the old way of giving Communion, "God" accused of selling cocaine, and more.

Benedict returns to old way of distributing Communion

A papal aide says Pope Benedict XVI intends to return to the old way of distributing Communion at Mass.

According to wire reports, the pontiff will place the Communion host in the mouths of those who kneel before him.

Roman Catholics received Communion that way before the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The reforms made it possible for faithful to take the host in their hands while standing.

The aide, Monsignor Guido Marini, says that distributing Communion the old way helps faithful be devout.

God accused of selling cocaine near Tampa church

Police say a man named God was arrested near a Tampa, Fla., church for selling cocaine.

According to wire reports, police had been investigating God Lucky Howard, and he was arrested Saturday.

Jail records show Howard was charged with several counts drug possession and distribution, which include increased charges for being within 1,000 feet of a church, a school and public housing.

Survey Says

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life surveyed more than 35,000 Americans in order to comprehensively examine the country’s religious landscape.

Among those who are affiliated with a religious tradition, 7-in-10 say many religions can lead to eternal life. This view is shared by a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including more than half of members of evangelical Protestant churches (57 percent).

Good Book?

“The Grand Weaver” by Ravi Zacharias.

How differently would we live if we believed that every dimension of our lives -- from the happy to the tragic to the mundane -- were part of a beautiful and purposeful design in which no thread were wrongly woven? That’s what Zacharias explores in “The Grand Weaver.”

From a chance encounter in a ticket line to a beloved father’s final word before dying, from a random phone call to a line in a scripture reading, every detail of life is woven into its perfect place.

Get to Know … Billy Sunday

William Ashley Sunday (Nov. 19, 1862 – Nov. 6, 1935) was an American athlete and religious figure who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became a celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.

During his eight years in the major leagues, he was known for his daring base-running and dramatic outfield play. He converted to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s and left baseball for the Christian ministry.

He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became a famous evangelist with his colloquial sermons and frenetic delivery.

Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching almost certainly played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. He continued to preach and remained a stalwart bolster of conservative Christianity until his death.

The Word

Halal: A set of Islamic dietary laws that regulate the preparation of food. -- Religioustolerance.org